Linseed oil is a source of amazing pro-health agents as a food additive and the skin conditioner for natural cosmetics. The high unsaturated fatty acid content has a moisturizing, nourishing, and softening effects. What is particularly important it supports wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative properties. In this contribution, the discovery of supercriticality (SC) in linseed oil is presented. SC is a unique state of matter in the surrounding of so-called critical point, which enormously increases the solubility (also selective), or ability to molecular interactions, including the chemical reactiveness. It is found that it extends at least 350 K, so the not-considered impact of SC on properties under the room or body temperatures can be expected. The critical singularity in linseed oil occurs at ca. 220 K, but this temperature can enormously increase by using some admixtures or pressure, easily reaching the environmental level. All these open a chance for a qualitative enhancement of pro-health features of the linseed oil by tailoring treatment features. It is also a chance for including high-pressure processing technology (HPP) to form new linseed oil-based innovative cosmetic products due to the possibility of ‘boosting’ SC features already by moderate pressures: 150 MPa – 300 MPa.
Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Associate Professor, Polish Academy of Sciences
